1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hook-and-eye fastener which is employed in dresses, suits and other garments, and consists of: a male component; and a female component for receiving a part of the male component therein in a slidable manner in fastening action thereof, and more particularly to a female component of the hook-and-eye fastener, the female component being provided with an improved eye body which enables the female component to be considerably low in its overall height and to be fixed to a garment fabric without causing any pucker of the garment fabric, whereby the fastener is remarkably improved in its appearance and texture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, it has been known to provide a hook-and-eye fastener of the type disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-13766.
As shown in FIG. 1, the above conventional hook-and-eye fastener consists of: a male component 3 assembled from a hook body 1 and a capped eyelet 2; and a female component 6 assembled from an eye body 4 and a simple eyelet 5. In assembling of the fastener, the hook body 1 of the male component 3 of the fastener is fixedly mounted on the back of a garment fabric 7 by means of the capped eyelet 2, while the eye body 4 of the female component 6 of the same fastener is fixedly mounted on the face of another garment fabric 8 by means of the simple eyelet 5. In fastening action of the thus assembled fastener, a tongue portion of the hook body 1 of the male component 3 of the fastener is so oriented as to be aligned with a hook-insertion opening of the eye body 4 of the female component 6 of the same fastener, and moved in the closing direction of the fastener so that the hooking-in engagement of the hook body 1 of the male component 3 of the fastener in the eye body 4 of the female component 6 of the same fastener is established in a sliding manner.
In such conventional hook-and-eye fastener, as shown in FIG. 1, the eye body 4 of the female component 6 of the fastener assumes a substantially flat squareshaped tubular form consisting of, in cross section: a base mounting plate section 4a; a top engaging plate section 4b lying substantially parallel to the base mounting plate section 4a; and intermediate opposite plate sections 4c substantially perpendicular to the base mounting plate section 4a and the top engaging plate section 4b, which intermediate opposite plate sections 4c extend between opposite ends of the base mounting plate section 4a and the top engaging plate section 4b. The base mounting plate section 4a of the eye body 4 is provided with a struck-out central portion having an aperture 9 for receiving the eyelet 5 therein. In assembling of the female component 6 of the fastener, a front-end portion 5a of a hollow shank of the eyelet 5 passes through the aperture 9 of the struck-out central portion of the eye body 4, and staked around a peripheral edge portion 9a of the through-hole 9 inside the eye body 4 so that the front-end portion 5a of the eyelet 5 is plastically deformed into an annular curled edge abutting against an inner surface of the struck-out central portion of the eye body 4 around the aperture 9, whereby the female component 6 of the fastener is fixedly mounted on the face of the garment fabric 8. At this time, an outer peripheral edge portion 9b of the aperture 9 of the eye body 4 of the female component 6 is fixed to the garment fabric 8 with a good bite so that the eye body 4 of the female component 6 is prevented from rotating relative to the garment fabric 8.
However, in the eye body 4 of the female component 6 of the conventional fastener, the struck-out central portion such as the outer peripheral edge portion 9b of the aperture 9 of the eye body 4 projects outward from a plane of the base mounting plate 4a to intensely compress the garment fabric 8 around the aperture 9, which causes some pucker of the garment fabric 8 around the female component 6 of the conventional fastener. In addition, by the presence of such pucker, the overall height of the female component 6 of the conventional fastener is disadvantageously increased so that the conventional fastener is considerably impaired in its appearance and texture.